Overland MJ am I nuts.

[Waytec]

I am I crazy or what
So I am piecing together parts for my overland Daly Driver. a 88 and up Comanche. I say and up because the mint body is a 88 but everything ells is going to be from "and up" I currently I DD a 90 MJ.

The plan is to take the Trans. t-case and front axle out of the 90 and put it in the 88. The 88 is a 4 banger, 2WD with the simplest dashes. So all the electrical is going be coming with the engine including the gages. I also have a Chrysler 8.25 to replace the D35.

For Overlanding I have a cap that came with the 88. so gear will go under. Both rear bumpers are pretty beat so I am thinking of building a custom off road/swing out tire carrier.

For the front I am going to keep it stock, adding recovery hooks. (If I ever do put a winch on it I will fab up a hidden set up only showing the fairlead.) I also picked up the MJ bush guard. Yes the MJ one. most people went with the XJ one because it was more than half the price of the MJ one but this is the MJ one.

Eventually I will lift it to about 4 inch. and put 33's under it. with 4:10 gearing. also For paint I am thinking of Land Rover G4 Orange.
So am I nuts for thinking of doing up a MJ. I am just getting a little skittish right now because the parts are starting to accumulate and thins is the time to cut and run or dive in.

 

[OverlandZJ]

Not crazy at all.. i'd seriously consider an MJ if i found a clean donor like you aquired.

I'm sure you have seen Mario's (elcoyote) MJ from AT? What a sexy machine..

 

[Black Dog]

You are not crazy. MJs are really neat and what would be cool would be to get some sort of truck bed camper to fit in it and make it a totally self contained unit.

 

[Waytec]

I have seen Mario's. actually in person this summer. It is sexy and kind of what I am aiming for, that is where the light bulb cam from for this build.

 

[getlost4x4]

i've always wondered and never actually looked under one of those things.

do they have an actual frame or is the back part a sub-frame of some sort?

 

[jh504]

You are not crazy at all! An MJ would be such an awesome rig. The light weight, solid axle, and 4.0 combined with the truck body would be sooo much fun. The swap is also pretty straight forward. I converted a 2wd XJ to 4x4 using donor parts and it was pretty simple. The hardest part was moving the HEAVY AW4 around!

 

[Waytec]

i've always wondered and never actually looked under one of those things.

do they have an actual frame or is the back part a sub-frame of some sort?

It is unibody but it turns into a frame for the box. so the box comes off but the cab does not.

 

[Waytec]

Ya the concern is coming from the 2.5L to 4.0L swap. this is a big best to tackle. swapping from 2wd to 4wd is a matter of bolting it up cutting hole for the shifter. 4.0 swap is going to in tell taking the entire harness out of the 90 and putting it in the 88 gage pod and all. But machine overhauling is what I do for a living the only thing is this one is not the size of a house.

 

[jh504]

Ya the concern is coming from the 2.5L to 4.0L swap. this is a big best to tackle. swapping from 2wd to 4wd is a matter of bolting it up cutting hole for the shifter. 4.0 swap is going to in tell taking the entire harness out of the 90 and putting it in the 88 gage pod and all. But machine overhauling is what I do for a living the only thing is this one is not the size of a house.

Should be a fun little project for a fellow like you then. You have to start a build thread though.

 

[Root Moose]

Do it. It'll be a labour of love but worth it in the end. I have a similar project on the back burner.

For 33s I'd do 4.56 gears.

 

[Backwoods Rambler]

for 33s i'd do 4.56 gears.

yes

 

[Waytec]

Thanks for the support. This was a standing at the edge of a cliff kind of thing.

Do it. It'll be a labour of love but worth it in the end. I have a similar project on the back burner.

For 33s I'd do 4.56 gears.

I am not too sure about t 4:56. I was thinking 4:10s because this rig is going to be seeing lot of highway kilometres. that is why it will be getting a good set of ATs instead of MT's. Also I am running 4:56s on 33s in my XJ and I am maxing out at 110km/h I want more road gear then that. that is why I am thinking 4:10s.
What are you guys finding in the XJs what results are you getting with what gears.

 

[Root Moose]

What do you mean maxing out at 110 km/h? Should only be turning ~2500 RPM with 33s IIRC.

 

[OverlandZJ]

33x10's, 4.0L/Auto with 4:56 turning 2250 rpm at 65 MPH.

 

[Root Moose]

Yeah, I think the RENIX AW4 and the AX-15 might have a slightly lower top gear. Not enough to be a real issue though.